Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 9. (Budapest, 1966)

HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM — MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Ferenczy, László: Chinese Bronze Mirrors from the Han Period

characterized by a strong arched chest and a snake-like neck. This is the most conspicuous on the figure of the tiger. These features refer to the Wang Mang period and the subsequent age. The details of the animal figures are not as fine as they were earlier or as they are on the previous mirror. As a rule, the zig-zag or saw-tooth rim decoration is not too useful for dating; however, the central double zig-zag line is somewhat broader than the two saw-tooth patterns on its two sides. According to Bulling, this is characteristic of earlier times, while on pieces of a later date the double zig-zag line often takes place in a narrower stripe.

38 Our mirror can thus be dated most probably from the first half of the Eastern Han period. It is interesting to note that the sequence of the animal figures on our mirror is all but exactly the same as that on a TLV mirror of Hanoi Museum, which is probably of Dong-son origin and is dated by Vandermersch from the end of the Western Han period. However, other details of the mirror are dissimilar : the knob is placed on four leaves, there is no inscription and the central zig-zag line of the rim is considerably narrower.

39 38 ibid. pp. G3 — fit. 39 Op. cit. Pl. VIII. Fig. A.